Exodus: God Responds

Crying Out

I’m going to start this sermon on a personal note- and I’ll let you know that as much as Lindsey and I value the collective wisdom in this room, I’m not looking for advice here from the peanut gallery but I have a pulpit and a microphone and an opportunity to vent over an exhausting life situation that happens to tie into today’s sermon so I’m just going to take advantage of it and let it fly. The battle seems to be exactly the same every night. And the battle is this- how long do we let Hadley cry out for us in the middle of the night before we go and get her? And if I’m honest, most of the time when she fusses, it lasts a very short period of time and then she goes right back to sleep. But some nights, the fussing starts early and comes often meaning that Lindsey and I begin the “who’s going to get her” ritual that includes a whole lot of me pretending to be asleep, hoping that Lindsey will break first. Usually Lindsey’s able to sleep through it no matter what, so this is really a one person ritual, but it makes me feel better to think that someone else is going through it with me. And then the count down begins. How long do I let her go? 2 minutes? 5 minutes? 30 minutes? I need sleep- is it ok if I turn down the volume down on the monitor and just crash out? What’s the worst that could happen if I ignore her for longer than I know I should. And then through all of it, the struggle of simply knowing that, even though I want to let her put herself back to sleep because it helps us in the long run, I know, I know, I know that all I have to do is to walk into that room, pick her up and hold her, and her world will be right. Now some of you may have never had this struggle, never worried about it or were blessed with a saint of a child that just slept through everything, or were able to easily choose the benefit of waiting it out over the ease of picking them up and ending it then, but for me, having my child call out my name makes me immediately want to make it all better. On the nights that the cries are short and she falls back to sleep quickly, its relatively easy- we hear mild fussing from her nearly constantly, she’s 2. On the nights when the cries turn desperate almost immediately, its hard to wait at all.

I wonder what it was like for God, to listen to the cries of God’s people, God’s children, as the burden placed on them by the Egyptians grew and grew and grew. There are moments when the Psalmists desperate words, “how long oh Lord? Will you ignore me forever” must have felt as real to the children of God in captivity in Egypt as they feel to my screaming two year old when all she wants is one of us to come in and hold her, to let her know that we are, in fact, present and listening. And so at some point the question for God from the people of Israel becomes a very familiar- “How long oh Lord? Will you ignore us forever?” And all of this is complicated by the fact that story of God’s interaction with humanity is replete with reminders that God is the God of the oppressed. We know from scripture, Old Testament and New, that God is always on the side of the forgotten, the powerless, the outsider- The old testament calls them the “Alien, Orphan, and Widow,” the new testament calls them “The Least among you.” And yet the children of God sit for decades, perhaps centuries, in complete slavery to the Egyptian Empire. Chapter 2 of Exodus ends with their cries to God.

Common English Bible Chapter 2

23 A long time passed, and the Egyptian king died. The Israelites were still groaning because of their hard work. They cried out, and their cry to be rescued from the hard work rose up to God.

Common English Bible Chapter 2

24 God heard their cry of grief, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked at the Israelites, and God understood.

God has heard and God has remembered, but why isn’t God immediately acting? How long will they wait? How long will they cry out? When will God respond? How will God respond?

Common English Bible Chapter 3

3 Moses was taking care of the flock for his father-in-law Jethro, Midian’s priest. He led his flock out to the edge of the desert, and he came to God’s mountain called Horeb. 2 The LORD’s messenger appeared to him in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was in flames, but it didn’t burn up. 3 Then Moses said to himself, Let me check out this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t burning up.

4 When the LORD saw that he was coming to look, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

Moses said, “I’m here.”

5 Then the LORD said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” 6 He continued, “I am the God of your father, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the LORD said, “I’ve clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry of injustice because of their slave masters. I know about their pain. 8 I’ve come down to rescue them from the Egyptians in order to take them out of that land and bring them to a good and broad land, a land that’s full of milk and honey, a place where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all live. 9 Now the Israelites’ cries of injustice have reached me. I’ve seen just how much the Egyptians have oppressed them. 10 So get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”

Common English Bible Chapter 3

3 Moses was taking care of the flock for his father-in-law Jethro, Midian’s priest. He led his flock out to the edge of the desert, and he came to God’s mountain called Horeb. 2 The LORD’s messenger appeared to him in a flame of fire in the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was in flames, but it didn’t burn up. 3 Then Moses said to himself, Let me check out this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t burning up.

4 When the LORD saw that he was coming to look, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

Moses said, “I’m here.”

5 Then the LORD said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” 6 He continued, “I am the God of your father, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.

7 Then the LORD said, “I’ve clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry of injustice because of their slave masters. I know about their pain. 8 I’ve come down to rescue them from the Egyptians in order to take them out of that land and bring them to a good and broad land, a land that’s full of milk and honey, a place where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all live. 9 Now the Israelites’ cries of injustice have reached me. I’ve seen just how much the Egyptians have oppressed them. 10 So get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

So Moses, long exiled from Egypt in Midian, has left palace life and palace standards of living in order to shepherd his father-in-laws sheep. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Moses own actions in chapter 2, the murder of an Egyptian slave master in order to defend a Hebrew slave on the wrong end of whip. I can promise you this isn’t where Moses expected to end up in his life when he was younger. Educated by the best teachers in the land, raised as a grandson to the king of Egypt, a child of comfort and leisure, tending sheep in the desert was not on his “things I want to be when I grow up” list. Especially coming from a culture which sees wealth and comfort as divine blessing and poverty and hardship as a divine curse, Moses has all the reason in the world to believe he is where he is in life because God has abandoned him. So Moses ranges sheep through the desert trying to find a good place to graze. And while there’s nothing in the text that tells me this, I feel like Moses wasn’t all that aware a shepherd because in search of good land, he grazes he ship along the side of a mountain named “Horeb” which literally means “wasteland,” which, I think, is the last place I’d go expecting to find good pastures. So here is Moses, standing in the wasteland, trying to find something good for his sheep in an unlikely place, and instead he sees a bush wrapped in flames but not burning. Whatever Moses came to look for, that wasn’t it, but he’s not going to miss the chance to investigate- wouldn’t you? But instead of simply witnessing an unexplainable event, Moses finds himself being called by God to lead a people he doesn’t really know out from under the the rule of the palace he grew up in. Moses has numerous problems with this call from God, but God’s response to him offers an incredible message of the power and work of God.

Common English Bible Chapter 3

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”

Common English Bible Chapter 3

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I to go to Pharaoh and to bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Common English Bible Chapter 3

13 But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God continued, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.

Moses, certain of his own inability to do what God has called him to do, asks Who am I? Moses recognizes the incredible challenge and knows without a doubt that he is not up to the challenge. Besides, there are plenty of much better options- for starters,someone who’s actually a part of the Israelite community. That would make sense. Or someone who’s spent time leading something other than sheep- this is the type of undertaking that real leadership will matter in. Who am I? Who am I that you think this is inside my ability? I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. I’m not the one, I’m not the guy. There’s no way. How does God respond

Common English Bible Chapter 3

12 God said, “I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you. After you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come back here and worship God on this mountain.”

Common English Bible Chapter 3

13 But Moses said to God, “If I now come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they are going to ask me, ‘What’s this God’s name?’ What am I supposed to say to them?”

14 God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. So say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God continued, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, Abraham’s God, Isaac’s God, and Jacob’s God, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever; this is how all generations will remember me.

In response to Moses question, “Who am I” God responds with a rather clear statement that “Who” Moses is is remarkably irrelevant. Moses asks who am I, and God responds by making it clear that it is God, not Moses, who is working. I will be with you, I will show, I am sending. And Because of who God is, because it is God that is working, showing, and sending, then Moses future isn’t going to be defined by who Moses is, what Moses is capable of, Moses’ fears, Moses’ failures, Moses’ identity. Instead, Moses’ will be totally wrapped up in the identity of God. It’s not even simply that Moses won’t be left to his own resources, its that with the actions entirely in God’s hand, Moses is free to completely transformed by God. Usually when we teach this lesson, we talk about excuses, the reasons Moses comes up with for not going, and we can do that, but the most important thing in this passage isn’t Moses’ excuses- it is the power of who God is. Moses’ powerlessness is rendered meaningless when confronted with the identity and work of God. Moses discovers, and indeed continues to discover for the rest of his life, that ultimately God cannot be stopped. Moses fears his own failure, but Gods reason Moses shouldn’t fear is simply that God does not fail because of who God is. Moses is so worried about himself, his own abilities, his own fear, past failure, confusing Hebrew-Egyptian identity, everything that has gone on, is going on, and will go on in his own life that he can’t see God, can’t see God’s work, and cant see God’s identity.

Moses is so concerned with his own perceived weaknesses that he misses the work that God wants to do, is going to do, with him in his life.

Maybe that’s the better lesson for us. God has heard the cries of the people, God knows their oppression and misery, and God is working to rescue them. And he’s going to use a person to bring that about, and the person God wants to use is to wrapped up in his own insecurity and fear to be excited about the fact that God is going to set his people free and that God is going to use Moses to do it.

Its so easy to miss the work and power of God due to our own spiritual naval-gazing. And in the process we miss out on being the instrument of liberation in the lives of others God has intended us to be, people who introduce those around us to a God who saves, who wants to set them free from their fear, their insecurities, and the chains of sin.

W